For those of you who aren't meditators, this exercise can develop Will just as well as meditation. For those of you who are meditators, you'll recognize the steps.
Although many people meditate by walking in nature, or doing exercise such as long distance running, that is not what I will be referring to. This exercise is solely aimed at developing internal Will and as such needs you to remove all other distractions.
Start by sitting in a comfortable position. Decide on a short timeline, 15 minutes works. Turn off your phone (I know, I'm killing you!).
I suggest sitting because if you lie down, you may fall asleep and that defeats the purpose right? We aren't aiming at total peace and bliss here, we are aiming at strengthening your Will.
Close your eyes and pretend there is a blank movie screen on the inside of your forehead. Look at the screen and make sure it is blank. If there are pictures on screen, blank them out.
If you already meditate, or practice using your imagination abilities you may see movies or pictures or stories on the screen. That's wonderful but remember, we are working on building Will, not going on a journey. Blank the screen. Once the screen is blank, keep it blank until items stop popping up. If it's blank to start, great.
Once you can hold it blank for a bit, imagine a beach ball floating there on the screen. See the shape and colors.
Hold the beach ball for a minute or so. Once it is steady, cut your focus off from the screen and move your full attention down to your chest and feel your heart beat.
Put all attention onto feeling the steady beat in your chest. An alternative is to put all attention on hearing your breath go in and out. What matters is that you intentionally, even forcefully, choose to move your attention from one internal focus to another. The goal is to bounce your focus between the two points, each time disconnecting from the previous focus and totally focusing on the new area.
When you are starting out, there is nothing special about either of these locations, heart or forehead. You could pick other areas of your body to focus upon, however, my suggestion to you is to pick a place between your heart and the top of your head, no lower. When your Will strength starts to increase, you will be sending quite a bit of your creative energy into wherever you focus. Generally that doesn't go over well with the digestive system and other lower organs. Better to stay at heart level or above.
Once you get going and the strength of your Will increases, you'll find the screen on the inside of your forehead may take on quite a bit of significance, especially if you start to meditate.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Intermediate exercise for strengthening internally focused Will
Have you ever worked on something so intently you forgot to stop for lunch?
When you were done, your stomach was going "GRRRoowwwlllMuhuhuhahaha!" with an
evil tone.
Until you finished you didn't notice your stomach. That is the kind of concentration you want to achieve.
Your Will is the driver behind that concentration. Your task is to strengthen that Will.
- Take two books that would normally be boring to you. Read a paragraph from the first book.
Focus totally on that paragraph as you read. Total concentration. Make yourself read it slowly, methodically so that you understand what the paragraph is saying.
If you don't like computer programming, read a programming book. I myself like programming and usually sit down and read a programming manual like a novel.
On the other hand, I don't 'get' home decorating books so could use one to develop my Will.
Read the paragraph with total focus, then, and here is the important part, pick up your second uninteresting book and focus totally on a paragraph from there.
Completely drop the first book. Don't think about it, just drop it.
Force your focus onto the second book. Total concentration. Really understand what it is saying, then drop it and go back to the first. Repeat, till your eye bug out!
This is not an exercise to torture you. This is an exercise to show you that your Will is the driving force that focuses your thoughts and energy.
As you gain control over your Will, the result will be an ability to send your creative energy into any idea or analysis or concept. The more you practice using your Will, the easier intending items and situations into your life will become.
Next: Advanced exercises for developing Will
When you were done, your stomach was going "GRRRoowwwlllMuhuhuhahaha!" with an
evil tone.
Until you finished you didn't notice your stomach. That is the kind of concentration you want to achieve.
Your Will is the driver behind that concentration. Your task is to strengthen that Will.
- Take two books that would normally be boring to you. Read a paragraph from the first book.
Focus totally on that paragraph as you read. Total concentration. Make yourself read it slowly, methodically so that you understand what the paragraph is saying.
If you don't like computer programming, read a programming book. I myself like programming and usually sit down and read a programming manual like a novel.
On the other hand, I don't 'get' home decorating books so could use one to develop my Will.
Read the paragraph with total focus, then, and here is the important part, pick up your second uninteresting book and focus totally on a paragraph from there.
Completely drop the first book. Don't think about it, just drop it.
Force your focus onto the second book. Total concentration. Really understand what it is saying, then drop it and go back to the first. Repeat, till your eye bug out!
This is not an exercise to torture you. This is an exercise to show you that your Will is the driving force that focuses your thoughts and energy.
As you gain control over your Will, the result will be an ability to send your creative energy into any idea or analysis or concept. The more you practice using your Will, the easier intending items and situations into your life will become.
Next: Advanced exercises for developing Will
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Building your Personal Will
For those of you, like me who have had to learn how to focus your Will the hard way, here are a few ideas you can use.
1. The easiest method I've found to train one's will is to do exercise. This is easy because it is outwardly focused and you can see results. I don't mean, losing weight results (although maybe you do), I mean each time you do your exercise, add just a little complexity or distance or challenge to what you are already doing. When I started biking again, the first day I went a certain distance, probably 3 miles on flat road, not hard but enough. When I turned around at 1.5 miles to ride back, I looked at where I turned. The next time I rode, I rode to that same spot, then 150 feet further and turned around. Each ride went a little farther. The point isn't to get in shape, it's to work your Will, your determination. As you increase the distance, you will need more and more determination to get past your resistance. And each time you succeed, your Will increase in strength.
The important thing is specifically choosing an activity that you don't usually do and is not easy as pie. Make yourself work a little. That's the key. When you make yourself work a little, you exercise your Will.
It is your Will that pushes you when you hit that little (or big) voice in your head that says, "I just don't feel like it." Each time you push yourself, your Will becomes a little stronger.
Gymnasts and military people usually have very strong Wills because they've trained themselves to get past the voice, to keep going. I dated a gal who was an athlete in the martial arts. She ignored pain and pushed past it. I actually thought she was a little nuts when she wanted to keep playing raquetball after breaking her toe. It wasn't too hard to beat her at that point...alright I'm not proud of it, but she wouldn't agree to stopping!
2. Building Will through external measures is a great starting point, but it is your internally motivated choices that really need Will.
Examples of internal choices are: What do you believe? Are you willing to stand up for those beliefs? If so, how far? At what point do you cave? Do you only stand up for your beliefs if your life is threatened?
Life threatening situations are less Will and more survival instinct. It could be said survival instinct is just Will at it's most potent. I would have to agree after a fashion. Fear is a great drug to get one's Will moving, but I wouldn't want to have to conjure up fear each time I decided I believed x, y or z.
The difference between building your Will doing an external activity and building your Will for internal choices is reinforcement. It is easy to see physical reinforcement with external activities. Internal activities however, are much more slippery to grasp.
Many of us are lost in knee-jerk responses to outward situations; I need this...He said that...She did this.
We bounce around like pingpong balls because we don't have the Will to hold firm on our position.
Sometimes we don't have a position (I can't help you with that one), but an amazing thing happens when you build Will. You start to identify what is important to you and what is not important. Then you start to feel the power you innately have and start to use it to stand up for your best interests. This doesn't mean you screw everyone else, you just stop being slapped around in the breeze.
Many Life Coaches or Motivational Coaches teach you all kinds of external steps to build your Will without ever realizing Personal Will is the target: Face your Fears, Feared things first, Do what you have to do, then do what you want to do. The list goes on and on.
Personal Will gives you that feeling of Power their advertisements claim to bestow.
more on Will later:^)
1. The easiest method I've found to train one's will is to do exercise. This is easy because it is outwardly focused and you can see results. I don't mean, losing weight results (although maybe you do), I mean each time you do your exercise, add just a little complexity or distance or challenge to what you are already doing. When I started biking again, the first day I went a certain distance, probably 3 miles on flat road, not hard but enough. When I turned around at 1.5 miles to ride back, I looked at where I turned. The next time I rode, I rode to that same spot, then 150 feet further and turned around. Each ride went a little farther. The point isn't to get in shape, it's to work your Will, your determination. As you increase the distance, you will need more and more determination to get past your resistance. And each time you succeed, your Will increase in strength.
The important thing is specifically choosing an activity that you don't usually do and is not easy as pie. Make yourself work a little. That's the key. When you make yourself work a little, you exercise your Will.
It is your Will that pushes you when you hit that little (or big) voice in your head that says, "I just don't feel like it." Each time you push yourself, your Will becomes a little stronger.
Gymnasts and military people usually have very strong Wills because they've trained themselves to get past the voice, to keep going. I dated a gal who was an athlete in the martial arts. She ignored pain and pushed past it. I actually thought she was a little nuts when she wanted to keep playing raquetball after breaking her toe. It wasn't too hard to beat her at that point...alright I'm not proud of it, but she wouldn't agree to stopping!
2. Building Will through external measures is a great starting point, but it is your internally motivated choices that really need Will.
Examples of internal choices are: What do you believe? Are you willing to stand up for those beliefs? If so, how far? At what point do you cave? Do you only stand up for your beliefs if your life is threatened?
Life threatening situations are less Will and more survival instinct. It could be said survival instinct is just Will at it's most potent. I would have to agree after a fashion. Fear is a great drug to get one's Will moving, but I wouldn't want to have to conjure up fear each time I decided I believed x, y or z.
The difference between building your Will doing an external activity and building your Will for internal choices is reinforcement. It is easy to see physical reinforcement with external activities. Internal activities however, are much more slippery to grasp.
Many of us are lost in knee-jerk responses to outward situations; I need this...He said that...She did this.
We bounce around like pingpong balls because we don't have the Will to hold firm on our position.
Sometimes we don't have a position (I can't help you with that one), but an amazing thing happens when you build Will. You start to identify what is important to you and what is not important. Then you start to feel the power you innately have and start to use it to stand up for your best interests. This doesn't mean you screw everyone else, you just stop being slapped around in the breeze.
Many Life Coaches or Motivational Coaches teach you all kinds of external steps to build your Will without ever realizing Personal Will is the target: Face your Fears, Feared things first, Do what you have to do, then do what you want to do. The list goes on and on.
Personal Will gives you that feeling of Power their advertisements claim to bestow.
more on Will later:^)
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